Countdown to Halloween – A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)

Often referred to as the Top Gun of the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is a movie that doesn’t really feel like a genuine sequel to Craven’s masterpiece as the pair have very little in common. The themes are different, the tone is different and – more importantly – the character motivations of our lead villain have changed. In this movie, the now named Freddy Krueger is not looking to make the Elm Street kids pay for the sins of their parents and is instead trying to get into the real world by using sexually confused Jesse as his vessel. For what purpose, the movie never fully explores but it does at least lead to a cool chest bursting scene.

But it’s hard to talk about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge without talking about the homoerotic undertones that often overshadow the movie itself. Throughout the years, the movie has become the punchline to a lot of jokes made about the series and for good reason – the homoerotic undertones are more like overtones. What’s hilarious though is that no one on the movie’s production worked out that David Chaskin’s script had plenty of references to gay lifestyles and choices. In Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, every member of the cast and crew look embarrassed as they recalled how not one person raised the question during production about what the movie was really trying to say. The only people who seemed clued in were Mark Patton (who is now an out-and-proud actor), Robert Englund and the set designers who subtly dropped in clues like a “no girls” sign on Jesse’s door and adding the board game Probe to the background of a shot.

It’s hard to imagine though that no one else saw the signs when the movie is littered with things like the S&M bar scene, the gym teacher being killed by balls or the bare-ass whipping scene. Or, you know, this exchange between the two main characters after Jesse runs away from making out with his girlfriend:

Jesse: Something is trying to get inside my body.
Ron: Yeah, and she’s female, and she’s waiting for you in the cabana. And you wanna sleep with me.

Naivety can be a powerful thing. Not even the fact that Jesse is this movie’s Final Girl was a clue.

However, if you ignore the unintentional humour, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is just a boring movie. The plot feels very half-baked and incredibly half-arsed in its execution with none of the “scary” scenes working effectively to the point where the only real fear comes from Mark Patton’s failed attempt at mimicking the dance scene from Risky Business. The only saving grace of the movie (aside from Englund) are the special effects which not only still hold up to this day, but stand head and shoulders as some of the best of the series and the genre as a whole. Freddy’s ‘escape’ scene for example if a masterpiece in practical special effects work.

Every horror franchise has their black sheep and this is A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s. Like Halloween III: The Season of the Witch and Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge does have its fans who actually like the movie in an non-ironic way. They appreciate what Chaskin was trying to do with the character’s mythology and how the central friendship (not relationship) between Jesse and Ron is incredibly strong. But for most, this is a dud in the series and just feels like New Line Cinema’s lazy attempt to cash in on the genius of Wes Craven.

But, the horror master himself would come back for the next installment, which many feel to be the best of the series…

Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.

Flickering Myth will be presenting a one-night only screening of zombie-comedy Stalled at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, London on Novemeber 14th 2013. For more information on where to buy tickets, click here.